"How could the Prince of the Crystal Empire say that everything I’ve done was on my own behalf?" Tempest snapped as she paced back and forth across her room. "I did what I did out of anger and revenge. If you’re looking for a scapegoat, it was the Storm King who’s the true mastermind here, not me!"
"Nevertheless," The Friendship Festival Crown remarked, which was starting to become more and more put together. "What Prince Armor said is somewhat true, Tempest. He's probably right about the fact that your friends were concerned for your well-being. You’re clearly making it sound like your friends made you who you are."
"That's because they did," Tempest snarled, glaring down at the crown. "They did make me who I am. Razzle, yes, she has every right to be upset with me because of what I did, but them? They were the agitators in all of this," Suddenly, Tempest then looked at herself in the mirror and saw her reflection. "Take a look at this reflection if you can," Tempest muttered to the crown. "This is a pony who was a victim of an Ursa Minor, and a victim of false friends. So what, if they’ve come to apologize? I won't accept their apologies!"
"But, if you don't," The crown cautioned. "My body will start to break again."
"I don't care what happens to you!" Tempest snapped. "You’re just a crown created for the Friendship Festival that has been haunting me ever since I stepped on you, and crushed you into a million pieces. Why should I get advice from you anyway? All I ever wanted was to wear a crown, and every time I have to listen to you, I just get…reminded…of what could have been." Tempest felt herself feel small for a brief second. She knew that the crown was not a talking object. But the more she realized it, the more she remembered what Twilight had told her after the Storm King's defeat: “One Crown is Worth a Thousand Lives." She then looked back towards the crown and stared at it, trying to picture herself wearing it. "I'm sorry," Tempest sighed. "It's just that…"
"You don't have to say it again," The crown interrupted. "In fact, this what I wanted you to do: Trying to picture yourself as an alicorn princess when in reality, you will never get the chance."
Hearing this, Tempest returned to the mirror and indeed started to picture herself as an alicorn princess. But, the more she looked at it, the more it made her feel sad that this dream would never come to fruition. "So, you are saying that life is always never going to be fair for me, isn't it?" Tempest asked turning away from the mirror and back to the crown. "That I should just accept it whether I like it or not."
“Life doesn't go the way we planned,” The crown replied. “Just like you didn't plan on losing your horn and never getting it back. Like yourself, I am broken, but I will be restored. It's just like Princess Twilight said, your horn is still very powerful, just like the pony it belongs to."
"Yes, she did say that, didn't she?" Tempest sighed. "And that light show I gave during Songbird's concert was pretty good too to say the least." It was then that Tempest felt an epiphany building up inside of her for the first time, realizing now that all she had done under the service of the Storm King was never going to restore her horn to its former glory. Taking another deep breath, she sighed heavily and slowly began to accept her fate. Though how she would react to her former friends, she still didn’t know for sure just yet.
Meanwhile, Twilight and Lemon Lime stood at the platform as the two trains carrying Tempest's remaining friends arrived at different times.
"Your highness," Irish Spring spoke up, bowing to Twilight along with Snow Frost. "We've come at your request to make amends with Fizzlepop. I want you to know right now that we…"
"I know why you're here," Twilight interrupted, beckoning Irish Spring to rise to her feet. "You've come to make amends with Fizzlepop Berrytwist, because myself and the other princesses asked you to."
"We've…been meaning to apologize to her ourselves for quite some time," Lemon Lime commented, walking over to join his friends. "We shouldn't have turned her away at her darkest hour. We were just…scared, that's all."
"Well, try saying that to Fizzlepop when you see here," Twilight replied as they all left the train station and made their way into the heart of the Crystal Empire. "What happened in the past, is in the past."
"Easier said than done," Lemon Lime sighed. "We were such idiots towards Fizzlepop, I doubt she’ll forgive us so easily"
Soon, they reached the castle and made their way into the throne room, waiting for Tempest to come down. From a corner of the throne room, Razzle Fizzle watched incognito as they all stood in the throne room, waiting for the storm to break.
Meanwhile, up in her room, Tempest heard a knock at the door and opening it up, saw a pair of guards on the other side.
"Princess Twilight is waiting for you," One of the guards informed her. "Along with some ponies who have been looking for you for some time."
Tempest turned around, looking back towards the Friendship Festival crown, that sat silently on her nightstand. Taking a deep breath, Tempest followed the guards down to the throne room.
Back in Canterlot, the revelations of what Storm King had done were being aired out to the princesses like a flowing river.
"He said that we are to treat creatures of different races like rats,” A captured Storm Creature explained, as he was being questioned by an interrogator, while Celestia and Luna watched from a glass barrier outside the room. "Because that's who they were, rats, and rats needed to be exterminated."
"And did you have any regrets for your actions?" The interrogator asked. "Any regrets at all?"
The Storm Creature stared at the interrogator for a brief moment and then said his peace. "No. Because the Storm King had plans for us and only us alone, that we would be the master race and every other creature would be slaves to us."
Both Celestia and Luna felt their stomachs turn and walked away from the interrogation room.
"At least they are opening up," Luna shuddered, feeling her spine tingle. "It just confirms our worst fears, sister. That these creatures were following an idealist that didn't care about anypony except himself."
"Which is why he is now at the bottom of the sea," Celestia replied. "Because that is a grave fit only for monsters like him."
"But not all monsters are like him, sister," Luna, remarked who was beginning to think about Tempest. "I think that even as we speak, a sea of tears and forgiveness will flow from the Crystal Empire."
"Good luck, Tempest." Celestia whispered to herself. The waiting game was about to begin.